Boise Towne Square Mall Santa

So Hannah has made it very clear that she is aware Santa is not real.  :)  She actually broke the news to us around a month or two ago.  We're not sure how she figured it out, but she did and now we talk about the fun of pretending and Hannah remains completely on board.  Even though Hannah no longer believes in the man with the white beard she is completely intrigued by the idea of him.  

So point of this blog.  If you take your child to visit with Santa I highly suggest the Santa at the Boise Towne Square Mall.  The above pic is the perfect portrayal of Hannah's visit with him.  He captured her attention completely and even took the time to sing "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer".... it's entire first verse and chorus.  You could tell this man loved his job.  I realize it's only December 6th and I'm sure most Santa's end the day with more white hair than they started with and a couple extra "stress lines," but not this one.  I was impressed with this man.  He truly wanted to make the kids both believe and feel special.  I could tell in the end by Hannah's response to their visit, that even though she still wasn't a believer, she did leave feeling special and it was a positive experience for her. I stood by and observed the entire visit with a smile on my face feeling just as happy as Hannah. And even if she doesn't believe...  I left wondering if I did!  :)

2010 Christmas Program, A Late Birthday Celebration, and a Couple of Cute Pics!

 This past Sunday at church was the Children's Christmas Program.  What an incredible program it was!  We were so proud of Hannah!  At some point we were sure that we heard her voice above the rest!  We saw a confidence in her that we haven't seen yet and you could tell she enjoyed every moment of it!

 Later this week (For the family and friends who are interested!)  There will be a link on our churches website that will allow you to watch the program from afar if you wish!  Our church is big on family (obviously with the name "Family Life Church") and so they felt it was important for those near and far to be able to enjoy the program as much as we did!  I will post a link when it is available!

 Hannah Grace and Hannah Joy ....  they are growing up right before our eyes and we can hardly believe it!  Both beautiful and amazing girls.  They are so special and loved!

 Then after church it was on to Red Robin to celebrate (yet again) Hannah's 5th birthday!  This time with Grandma Pat who is in town again!  Hannah LOVES Red Robin so it was a given that we were headed there when Grandma gave her the choice of which restaurant to choose!

 I have never eaten so fast in my life.  I was actually looking forward to my "To go box" so that I could go home and enjoy my food!  Phew these girls are goof-balls and eat pretty quick too thus requiring much entertaining to make it through the meal!  Good thing Red Robin is a loud restaurant whether we are there or not!  :)

 The girls also love to do anything their big sister does, this includes coloring.  Coloring generally lasts until they begin eating the crayons.  And just in case you were wondering....  crayons are a non-digestible item.  Yep you got it!  They come out looking the exact way they went in.  Trust me...  having twins they are a little less supervised while coloring, or a little more challenging to observe lets say.  And we have confirmed this fact more than once! 

 Hey....  we were only missing one shoe and the only one not looking was the dog!  I'd say it's a pretty good shot!  :)

 Grandma and her girls...  So much fun!

 Cutie Pies!

 Had to post this because it holds Aspens frustrated face!  She is full of expressions and I love them all!  Let's just say when she has an opinion, she is full of passion and does not waver!  In general that's a good thing!  :)  All of our girls are growing way to fast!  It's hard to believe Hannah is 5 and the twins are 1 1/2 already!  Wow!

Living Nativity

This year Hannah was able to perform in a living nativity with her preschool class.  She sang 4 songs with her class before the performance began.  Even with the cold the audience busted out in applause when the kiddos were done!  They all did so great and  it was so much fun!  As a parent in the audience, while standing by one of the fire pits and sipping hot cocoa, I was so proud!  Hannah is truly blossoming into a child full of confidence and it is SO fun to watch!  

Caramel Corn Goodness

Being inspired by my friend Jamie's cooking and blog (that you can read here: "Creating Home" ), I've decided to post some pictures over the next 23 days of all of the delicious goods that will be baked in our home this Christmas Season.  Today we made caramel corn and you can find the recipe "here" if you'd like to try it.  Very simple and mouth watering delicious!